Steve Flowers: More summer political happenings
Allow me to again open my political notebook for more summer political happenings in the Heart of Dixie. As Labor Day approaches, it looks as though the state constitutional officeholders, all Republicans, are going to escape serious or even any opposition. Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth, Attorney General Steve Marshall, and Agriculture Commissioner Rick Pate are running unopposed. However, all three are running aggressive campaigns or, as the old saying goes, are running scared. It looks as though State Treasurer John McMillan will not run for reelection and may opt to be head of the new State Cannabis Commission. Waiting in the wing to run for treasurer is former State Treasurer Young Boozer. He will be a prohibitive favorite. He did an excellent job as Treasurer and remains very well thought of in Montgomery circles. The Secretary of State and Auditors jobs are open with no incumbents able to run. Surprisingly, state representative Wes Allen is the only one running for Secretary of State. He dodged a bullet when Birmingham businesswoman, Laura Johnston Clark, opted to not run. The State Auditor’s race has attracted several candidates. A recent entry is Mobilian Rusty Glover. He is a popular former state representative and state senator who ran statewide for lieutenant governor last time. He will be the favorite. I have never seen anyone who has ever met and visited with Rusty one-on-one who does not like him. The big money in next year’s election will be on the state legislative races. All 105 State House seats and all 35 State Senate races will be on the ballot. All 140 seats will have new lines. They may all be similar, but all will have to deviate to some degree. They will be drawing these new lines in a special reapportionment legislative session in late October or early November. The final census numbers just arrived within the last few days. This redistricting session is vitally important to all legislative incumbents. It is about political self-preservation. Redistricting also impacts the impending race for Speaker of the House, which will be determined shortly after the November 2022 General Election during the January 2023 organizational session. Current House Speaker Mac McCutchen announced during the summer that he was not running for reelection. This immediately set in motion a jockeying for position to be the next Speaker. The two candidates that are emerging are Steve Clouse (R-Ozark) and Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Dekalb County). The race will be decided within the Republican House caucus. The House currently has a super majority, with 75% of the body being Republican. This GOP dominance will continue or may even be enhanced after reapportionment. Steve Clouse is a 27-year veteran of the House. He is the powerful Chairman of the House Ways and Means General Fund Committee. Nathaniel Ledbetter is a popular, folksy, keen, second-term representative who is the House Majority Leader. Both candidates start with a hard-core base of votes from legislators from their neck of the woods. Ledbetter has a rock-solid base from the northeastern corner of the State and Sand Mountain. Clouse has steadfast support from southeast Alabama and the Wiregrass. The race will probably be determined by the more populous delegation of legislators from the metropolitan areas of Jefferson/Shelby and Mobile/Baldwin. Ledbetter has the backing of retiring Speaker McCutcheon of Huntsville and probably has an advantage in the Madison/Limestone delegation. However, Ledbetter’s ace-in-the-hole may be that as Majority Leader, he is helping raise campaign money not only for incumbents but, more importantly, the 20 to 25 new members who are being elected next May. If it comes down to a straight, all north Alabama versus south Alabama race, that gives Ledbetter a leg up because there are more people and legislators from north Alabama because that is where the population is, as the current census numbers reveal. However, if a geographic war develops, look for the Montgomery River Region Republican legislators to side with south Alabama and Clouse. Again, the Jefferson/Shelby and Mobile/Baldwin delegations may very well be where the race is decided. The Jefferson/Shelby legislators from the upscale urbane districts will favor Clouse’s experience in a private vote. This same advantage will accrue to Clouse in the silk-stocking Mobile/Baldwin districts. Veteran Mobile legislator Victor Gaston, who is also Speaker Pro Tem of the House, is running for reelection probably to help elect Clouse as Speaker. They are very close and dedicated friends. Victor is very respected and may very well bring some Mobile legislators with him. See you next week. Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state legislature. Steve may be reached at www.steveflowers.us.
Steve Flowers: Politics never ends in Alabama
We are all looking forward to next year’s gigantic political cavalcade. The 2022 elections in Alabama will be momentous. We will have an open U.S. Senate seat along with seven congressional seats, all running under new district lines. We have a Governor’s race along with all the other Constitutional offices. All 105 state representatives and 35 state senators will be running for reelection under new district lines. All 67 sheriffs in the state will be on the ballot, as well as all 68 probate judges. All these races are on the cusp of beginning or have already begun. However, we will have a mayor’s race in Birmingham this summer. The August 24 mayoral race in the magic city is shaping up as a Donnybrook. It is shaping up to be a rematch from four years ago between former mayor William Bell and current mayor Randall Woodfin. Four years ago, young Randall Woodfin defeated then mayor William Bell, the old fashion way. He outworked him. Woodfin went door-to-door in one-on-one campaigning in every precinct in Birmingham. He appears to have done a good job as mayor. He will be tough to beat. However, if anyone would do it, William Bell would be the one. He looks very distinguished and mayoral. In fact, I have often thought that if Hollywood were scripting a movie of a mayor of a city like the movie “Boss” with Kelsey Grammar, who played a Chicago mayor, that Bell would be the perfect actor. There are at least two other significant candidates vying to be Birmingham’s mayor, LaShunda Scales and Chris Wood, which may place Bell and Woodfin into a runoff. We have already had several special legislative elections throughout the state this year. Former Alabama House Member, April Weaver, won the Republican State Senate Primary for Senate District 14 on March 30. This senate seat was vacated when Cam Ward departed the Senate to become Director of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles. The district encompasses a good portion of Shelby County and all of Bibb and Chilton. It is a very Republican district. Therefore, Ms. Weaver’s victory is tantamount to election. She will face a token Democrat in the July 13 general election. Her triumph was extremely impressive. She garnered 82% of the vote against two opponents. She will be an effective senator for Central Alabama. In an open state House seat in Shelby County, U.S. Army Veteran Kenneth Paschal won the GOP Primary for House District 73, winning the Republican primary for a State Legislative district in a special election in Shelby County. Paschal won a close race over Leigh Hulsey, 51% to 49%. There is a special election for state House District 78 in Montgomery to fill the seat being left vacant with Kirk Hatcher moved up from the House to the Senate. There are several low-profile constitutional offices beginning to percolate for 2022. State Representative, Wes Allen, has announced and is running hard for Secretary of State. He is perfectly suited and qualified for that office. He is in his first term as a State Representative from Pike and Dale Counties. However, prior to that, he served 10 years as Probate Judge of Pike County, where he successfully oversaw elections. Wes is a native of Tuscaloosa, where his daddy serves as a State Senator. A successful Birmingham businesswoman, Laura Johnston Clark, is eyeing the State Auditor’s race. She was born and raised in Dothan and began her business there. She has deep and extensive family roots in the Wiregrass. Her father and mother and older brother are legendary and revered. She has been extensively involved civically in Birmingham for close to two decades. She is an integral part of next year’s World Games, which will be held in Birmingham. The current occupants of the Secretary of State and State Auditor’s offices, John Merrill and Jim Ziegler, are term-limited. So, these two offices are wide open. 2022 is going to be an exciting election year. See you next week. Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His column appears in over 60 Alabama Newspapers. He served 16 years in the state legislative. Steve may be reached at www.steveflowers.us.
